Accused killer found dead in SD jail cell

VISTA, Calif. 
A man accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend in her home last November while her 13-year-old daughter slept upstairs has been found dead in a San Diego County jail cell, authorities said Sunday.

Michael David Robles of Fallbrook was found hanging by his neck from a sheet tied to a shelf on Saturday, sheriff's and coroner's officials said.

A deputy performing a security check at Vista Detention Facility found the 43-year-old in his single-occupancy cell, the Medical Examiner said in a statement on its website. Paramedics tried to revive him, but a doctor declared him dead.

Prosecutors alleged that Robles strangled 34-year-old Kathleen Scharbarth in her Carlsbad home on Nov. 23, the night before Thanksgiving, shortly after she was dropped off at home by a new boyfriend, and as her daughter slept in an upstairs room.

He then buried her in a shallow grave the next day and went to a friend's Thanksgiving dinner, prosecutors said.

Robles was arrested a few days later, and Scharbarth's body was uncovered in a remote canyon.

He had pleaded not guilty, and was next scheduled to appear in court March 20 for a preliminary hearing, which would have determined whether there was sufficient evidence for him to stand trial.

Scharbarth's family appeared in front of their home in Carlsbad Sunday and read a statement to several media outlets.

"We had prepared ourselves for a long and emotional trial," said Ginny Scharbarth, reading the statement for the family. "Now we are dealing with another series of emotions too difficult to describe."

Ginny Scharbarth said she hoped the families of both people could now begin healing, though it would be difficult.

"This tragedy has now become even more senseless and troublesome," she said. "Two senseless acts by one individual have adversely affected many lives forever."

The family did not answer questions.

Scharbarth and Robles had dated on and off for about eight years, and she had gotten a restraining order against him about a week before she was killed.